The bowlers knew they had to step up: Philander

South Africa's much celebrated pace attack finally fired on the second day of the third Test against Australia on Saturday to wrest the momentum away from the hosts for the first time since the opening days of the series.

The bowling of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel had played a key role in the series triumph in England that earned them the number one spot in the rankings but on the batting-friendly Australia tracks, they had disappointed.

On Saturday, they faced an Australia side charged with confidence after dismissing the tourists for 225 and resuming on 33 for two with high hopes of building a big first-innings lead. Instead, Steyn (4-40) terrorised the Australians in a brutal spell of fast bowling and took the wickets of opener David Warner, nightwatchman Nathan Lyon and skipper Michael Clarke at the cost of just four runs in the first 40 minutes.

"He's the number one bowler in the world for a reason," said Philander, who chipped in with the dismissal of Ricky Ponting and ended up with figures of two for 55. "When you bowl on the other side from him it is special and just to bowl the new ball with him is special. The way he can deliver on big moments is unbelievable."

Philander said the conditions and the batting disappointment on Friday had helped transform the fortunes of the bowling unit.

"The wicket has a bit more bounce and the guys have to play a bit more off the back foot, which is good for us because it's similar to the wickets we have back home," he added.

"We knew we had to get 20 wickets to win this game, we didn't bat so well in the first innings which left us a few runs short. The bowlers knew they had to step up and bowl them out cheaply. And obviously with Steyn this morning, it was a pleasure to be bowling from the other side."

With a lead of 292 going into the third day, South Africa's number one ranking and their record of not having lost an away Test series since 2006 look safe.

Perhaps mindful that the Proteas chased down 414 to win the Perth test four years ago, Philander said they would aim to leave nothing to chance and he was not expecting to be bowling again any time soon.

"There's plenty of time left in the test and we'd obviously like to get as many runs as possible. Tomorrow's a new day and will pose a lot of new challenges, but hopefully we can get another 200-250 runs," he concluded.

Matthew Wade, who top-scored for Australia with a counter-attacking 68, put a brave face on Australia's predicament after they conceded 206 runs in the final session.

"We didn't bowl well and they counter-attacked really well, almost going at a one-day pace," he said. We don't feel like the series is slipping away, we've had a couple of bad sessions in a row, but we are lucky that it is day two and if things go well, we'll be batting tomorrow at some stage and batting on day four, which is probably going to be the best time to bat."

Wade acknowledged that Australia could be chasing a big total but added that the wicket is very good to bat on. He said if Australia can fight hard and pick up the remaining wickets, the hosts will have a good chance.

"We are going to be chasing a reasonably high total, but on a really good wicket. The wicket is getting better every single day and that's the real positive we have at the moment. If we can scrap hard and get these eight wickets, we're going to be have the best time in the game to bat," Wade said.

Following a draining draw in the second test, Australia took a new pace attack to Perth but Siddle was quick to defend the team's tactics saying it was important to ensure the players don't suffer an injury.

Ricky Ponting, who called it quits, on a glorious international career at the WACA on Monday, told sources that while he regarded the Indian Little Master, Sachin Tendulkar, as the greatest batsman he had played against, it was the flamboyant West Indian, Brian Charles Lara, who gave him nightmares, for his ability to single-handedly turn a match on its head and take his team to victory.

'Punter', as Ricky Ponting was popularly known as, called it a day on one of the most glorious and celebrated careers in Test cricket history. A great competitor, an astute captain and a phenomenal batsman, Ponting epitomized the 'Never Say Die Attitude'. Shubhartho Ghosh, an avid follower of Australian cricket, takes us through an emotional journey of the legendary batsman.

South Africa maintained their supremacy as the No. 1 ranked team in Test cricket when they annihilated Australia by a whopping margin of 309 runs to clinch the 3-match series 1-0 on Day 4 of the third and final Test at the WACA in Perth. Ricky Ponting was dismissed for 8 in his final international appearance.